Update on floating row cover

Here is an important lesson I learned about using floating row cover with raised beds. DON’T SKIMP! You have to have floating row cover that is wide enough to cover the width of the bed so that it can reach 3-4′ high and still have enough left so that you can anchor the sides to the ground (mine is 10′ wide and my beds are 4′ wide so this works). Then you have to cut it long enough so that you can gather the ends and weight them down. You do not want any gaps. So you would do at least 24′ for a 16′ long bed.

The problem is that on the one hand you don’t want to waste expensive row cover, even if you buy it in the more cost-effective commercial quantities. But, if you skimp and insects get under the cover, they are in heaven while you are assuming that your plants are safe. When you take off the row cover, you will be in for a rude awakening.

So … do not be penny wise and a pound foolish … use enough to do it right. I learned the hard way.

One Response to “Update on floating row cover”

As you will see from my web site http://www.veggiecare.com that I supply what I believe is the best of all row covers, so I was interested in what you had to say about row covers.
Your remarks were exclusively about securing it properly to exclude insects, which is absolutely correct, but there is another dimension to row covers and that is the positive enhancement of the growing environment for the plants under them.
I am not here to bag conventional row cover but I will say that the GrowCover I supply has excellent additional properties in encouraging healthy and fast growth in plants and it is clearly superior in performance to other spun bonded types.
As you are a long time vegetable gardenere I would be interested in your views.
Cheers
John